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Twitter: Are You Taking Advantage of Microblogging?

September 21, 2015

Creative Commons image by Garrett Heath.

You might have heard that Google is now displaying Tweets in search results. If youa��re not on Twitter, you might not know what all of the hullaballoo is about. Basically, Twitter is a microblogging site, and Googlea��s decision to show Twitter posts is giving individuals and businesses another way to become recognized. Want to know more? Read on for tips on optimizing your Twitter account.

Follow, Follow, Follow

If you have a Facebook or Instagram account, you might find that ita��s better to limit who you follow so you can actually interact with people. Because people who Twitter tend to post a bit (or a lot) more prolifically than those who use other social media sites due to the nature of the platform, youa��re not going to be able to acknowledge every Tweet (or even every tenth Tweet) anyway, so go ahead and build up your audience.

Following other people is a great way to get them to follow you. Dona��t discriminate: If someone follows you, you follow them right back. In addition get into the habit of following other business owners in your area, friends of friends, people who have hobbies similar to yours, people who have similar (or different) political views… you get the idea. Keep in mind that if you are following many more people than are following you, Twitter will impose some limits once you follow 2,000 people.

Jump Into Conversations

Dona��t wait to be invited. If you have a response to a Tweet, then go ahead and Tweet it! Keep in mind that these Tweets might be what comes up on your Google search results, of course. Re-tweet items and link to other peoplea��s websites.

On the side of your main page, you will see that there is a list of trending terms. If you have something to say about any of these terms, go right ahead. On the other hand, if you have nothing to say, dona��t try to work them in where they dona��t make sense.

Dona��t Be Spammy

People who only promote themselves on their Twitter feeds will soon find themselves without any followers. Link to other sites in and out of your industry. Share interesting tidbits that dona��t have anything to do with your business. Link to your blog, but link to othersa�� blogs as well. In short, dona��t be too self-centered. Remember that brevity is a virtue; do not type out a long post and just divide it into several Tweets. It really doesna��t work that way!

In conclusion, the two most important things to keep in mind when using Twitter are:

Be human. Dona��t Tweet like a robot; have opinions, and share them. Customize your background. Go ahead and use some text-speak, as long as you can be understandable; people know that you are limited to 140 characters.

Use some discretion. Now that Google is putting your Tweets out there for the world to see, youa��re going to want to keep that in mind every single time you post. Remember, the Internet is forever.